The Impact of Age on the Performance of Kurdistan Region Parliament Members: 1992–2022
Human biological age influences all activities and tasks assigned to individuals. Age also has an impact on the overall performance of institutions, particularly parliaments. Within this framework, a parliamentarian's age is linked to parliamentary performance in several distinct ways: experience and expertise, genuine representation, cognitive abilities, physical capacity, technical skill, and more. Most democratic parliaments around the world have two main duties: legislation and oversight, and age directly impacts the execution of both functions. Parliament is one of the most vital institutions in any country's political system; therefore, it is essential to identify the most active and efficient age group for this responsibility. This study focuses on all five parliamentary terms of the Kurdistan Region Parliament, from 1992 following the first elections in the Kurdistan Region up to 2022, a period during which five elections took place and five parliamentary terms served. Across these five terms, all three major age groups participated. The objective of this research is to identify the most effective and optimal age group across all five terms of the Kurdistan Region Parliament by applying a comparative methodology among all members of the five parliamentary terms regarding age, with a specific focus on the fifth term elected in 2018. The hypothesis of this study posits that middle age (between 35 and 65 years old) represents the optimal age range for membership in the legislative body of the Kurdistan Region.